U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary
04/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/17/2024 19:45
Brazilian Government Forced Censorship on X: New Report Reveals
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, the House Judiciary Committee released an interim staff report titled, "The Attack on Free Speech Abroad and the Biden Administration's Silence: The Case of Brazil." The report exposes Brazil's censorship campaign and presents a startling case study of how a government can justify censorship in the name of stopping so-called "hate" speech and the "subversion" of "order."
The Committee's report includes the following documents:
The Committee's report includes the following documents:
- Two copies each of 28 orders, in Portuguese and in English translation, issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes to X Corp.;
- An additional 23 orders issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes for which X Corp. does not have an English translation; and
- 37 orders issued by the Superior Electoral Court of Brazil.
The Brazilian government is currently trying to force X and other social media companies to censor over 300 accounts including:
- Jair Messias Bolsonaro, 38th President of Brazil
- Marcos do Val, Current Member of the Federal Senate in Brazil
- Paulo Figueiredo Filho, Brazilian journalist
Government-directed censorship is not a problem isolated only to authoritarian governments in faraway lands; it is happening here in the United States. The Committee's and Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government's findings of the Biden Administration's attacks on free speech reveal how the Biden Administration, like Brazil, has sought to silence their critics.
The State Department has an Office of the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights to "advance the security of the American people by assisting countries around the world to build more democratic, secure, stable, and just societies." Under the Biden Administration, the Department has been noticeably silent as Brazil and other countries have sought to censor speech online.
The attacks on free speech abroad serve as a warning for America. Since his public commitment to free speech, Elon Musk has faced criticism and attacks from governments around the world, including the United States. In Brazil, censorship of the opposing political party and investigative journalists occurs via court order. Under the Biden Administration, censorship demands are delivered in closed-door meetings with implicit regulatory threats, on top of lawfare for political opponents. Now, more than ever, Congress must act to uphold its duty to protect free expression.
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